I Am Coming

Pastor Johnathan opens this message by returning to the ongoing series through the Book of Psalms, landing on Psalm 27 — a psalm written by David during a season of real and pressing danger. Enemies surrounded him, false witnesses spoke against him, and violent men came against him. Yet rather than collapsing under the weight of it all, David opens with a declaration of confidence: "The Lord is my light and my salvation — so why should I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1). Pastor Johnathan sets this ancient text against a very modern and urgent backdrop — a recent visit with dear friends from Nicaragua who are living under increasing government persecution for their Christian faith.

The stories from Nicaragua are striking. Friends Pastor Johnathan has known since 2009 — bold, field-tested believers — collected every phone in the room before they would speak about their government, terrified of being listened to. What was once a vibrant ministry of open-air worship, street prayer, and Bible distribution has been criminalized. Praying for someone on the street means automatic arrest and two months in jail. Playing worship music publicly carries the same penalty. Bibles are confiscated. In the years that Pastor Johnathan's team was active in the region, they distributed over 5,000 Bibles to 5,000 families — not knowing how precious those Bibles would become. The lesson he draws is direct: we need to be obedient now, because we don't know what liberties we could lose later.

From this, Pastor Johnathan pivots to a broader declaration about identity and freedom. As America celebrates 250 years of independence, he reminds the congregation that the greater freedom — the one worth celebrating every single day — began just over 2,000 years ago when Jesus rose from the grave. "Yes, I'm an American. Yes, I am a Texan," he says, "but before all that, I am a Christian." Quoting Saint Ignatius, he echoes the sentiment: "I wish not merely to be called Christian, but also to be Christian." And quoting Romans 1:16, he anchors the church in Paul's declaration: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." The church cannot afford to be a fear-driven people. The only fear that belongs to the believer is the fear of God — and as Oswald Chambers reminds us, when you fear God, you fear nothing else.

The heart of the sermon is built around three powerful realities from Psalm 27. First, Pastor Johnathan unpacks the significance o